'Britain's Got Talent' host Simon Cowell admits watching back Susan Boyle's audition on the reality show was a ''wake-up call'' which has stopped him sneering

The music mogul "hated" himself when he watched back the Scottish singer's first appearance in front of himself and the judging panel - which also consists of Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan - and realised they were all "sneering" at her.

He said: "On the day of her audition, I was in such a bad mood, I didn't want to be there, I never thought we'd find anyone good.

"When I watched the clip back, I actually hated myself. We're all sneering, we're not listening. I didn't like what I saw. It was a wake-up call, and I was happy she made us look stupid, because we deserved it."

The 50-year-old star is currently preparing to quit 'American Idol' to launch his variety show in the US.

Simon decided to make the move when he realised he was getting "bored" of the contestants and the running of the programme.

He told chat show host Oprah Winfrey: "After a while, you start to go on automatic pilot. Too many times I was sitting there bored. The audience deserves more than that... and I can't hide when I'm bored."